


Basement Conversations

by illgiveyouallofme



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-03-11 21:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3333485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illgiveyouallofme/pseuds/illgiveyouallofme
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ziva returns to DC, but is in desperate need of advice</p>
            </blockquote>





	Basement Conversations

"Who is she?"

Gibbs barely looked up from his project, still focused on planing with the grain of the wood, not against it. It had been a long time since he'd heard her voice, but he hadn't forgotten her delicacy—he knew that if he paid her direct attention, she would close herself off and not say what she came here to say.

"Dunno who you mean," he said, uncharacteristically playing dumb. He heard her heels clink down the stairs and then she was standing before him. He couldn't ignore it anymore, and finally his gaze met and held hers. In a moment, he noticed her shorn hair, and recognized the hard set of her mouth. The last few years had done her good—she looked healthier than he'd last seen her, but there were now lines bordering her eyes that definitely had not been there before. Without a word, he turned to his workbench and poured two mugs of bourbon. Handing her hers, he waited, his patented Gibbs-stare firmly in place.

"I...I came back," she spluttered. "I came back because...but he wasn't...isn't...I should not have come. You do not care to hear about this."

He couldn't pretend anymore. Putting his hands on her upper arms, he told her gruffly, "Ziver, not a day has gone by that I didn't care. And DiNozzo cares too; he just can't face it."

"But he looked so happy," she said, desperation giving her voice a twinge that he knew she hated. "He's not," was all Gibbs could reply. Truth be told, Tony was putting forward a good show: his relationship with Zoe seemed solid, at the least. But Gibbs saw how often Tony still opened his desk drawer and stared at it, a forlorn look on his face. Thinking of Tony reminded him of another moment in his basement...

_“'Stop this for him,'" Tony said, his voice sounding muffled as he rested his head on the workbench. "Why would she stop it for you?"_ The question had haunted Gibbs since then, but he finally had his answer...

"Stop this for him," Gibbs repeated, "You didn't m—”

"I did not mean you," she confirmed. "But then he found me, in Israel, and I could not tell him. He thought I meant you and I could not..."

"Could not what?" Said an entirely different voice, echoing from the doorway at the top of the stairs. Ziva looked up with a start. It was a testimony to her distress that she was unaware of his presence there. Her ninja senses clearly weren't working properly.

"Could not tell you that I left to protect you. Could not tell you that I love you."

She half expected him to walk away. Tony had always followed where she led, but neither had ever dared to travel down this road. Especially not after years of minimal contact. Especially not when he seemed so happy with someone else. But he didn't walk away; instead, he walked slowly down the stairs and stood right in front of her, in the spot that Gibbs had silently vacated. Hiding behind her hair, she glanced up at him and realized her worst fear: he didn't look upset or surprised, no, Tony was angry.

"You left to protect me?" He nearly whispered. Ziva shuddered, with Tony, yelling was a good sign. This flat tone was as brutal as a slap across the face. "How many times did I have your back? How many times did I tell you I was there for you? And you thought you would protect me by leaving!?"

"Tony, I...I could not...I was..." She faltered, not knowing the right words.

"Ziva, I would have died for you! Do you not remember Somalia? And you never gave me a chance!"

"I gave you a chance to be happy. And you are," she said, choosing to ignore Tony's stare and Gibbs's earlier assertion.

"Ziva," Tony sighed, the tone of his voice completely different, softer somehow, "Ziva, I haven't been happy since I got on that plane in Israel. You're the only one who's ever made me happy,"

"Tony, why did you come here tonight?" This time they both jumped, having been so wrapped up in seeing each other that they completely forgot whose basement they were in.

Without taking his eyes away from Ziva's, he replied, "Broke up with Zoe, I couldn't pretend anymore. She's clearing her stuff out of my place, it felt cruel to watch her do it. I didn't know where else to go... Didn't know you had company."

"If you knew I was here, you would not have come?" Ziva said quietly, quirking the end of the statement up as though she were asking.

"Ziva," he sighed once more. God, she missed hearing her name fall softly off his lips. "I..."

The words failed him, so he did the only thing he could: he wrapped his arms around her and tugged her into his chest. The feel of her there dissipated what was left of his anger. Anger, he realized, that was more pointed at himself for leaving her there than it was really ever directed at her. He held her close as she sobbed her apology into his shoulder. He couldn't stand it anymore. Gently pulling her away from his now-ruined jacket, he looked her in the eyes and bent his head to hers. This kiss held an entirely different promise from their last, a promise that he repeated with his words,

"Ziva, this time, I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me, for good."

**Author's Note:**

> I hated the whole "Do this for him" thing, so I had to fix it. I hope you enjoyed, comments/kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> I can be found on tumblr as illgiveyouallofme


End file.
